INFLUENCERS – or prolific social media users paid to advertise with their posts – tend to be human, but not exclusively; in fact, one of Spain's most famous is a Parson Russell Terrier who earns his living hiking around the country and reporting on his experiences.
Pîpper has just spent the last year travelling 22,000 kilometres and has now taken a well-earned summer break, but will be back on the road again in September, says his owner, journalist Pablo Muñoz Gabilondo.
With 60,000 followers on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, three-year-old Pipper is becoming something of an oracle for those who want to find out where in Spain they can take their dogs.
Hotels, shops, bars, restaurants, and even museums, monuments popular with tourists and golf courses, plus beaches, are gradually being opened up to pets; on average, 18% of holiday accommodation in Spain welcomes dogs, although the average in Europe is 40%, largely because of animal-friendly France, Italy and Germany where it is rare for anywhere to bar entry to customers' non-human family members.
Much still needs to be done, Pablo says, because many hotels, for example, would like to allow pets but do not know how to organise themselves, whether they need special permission, or what to do. Plenty of hotels welcome dogs, but do not advertise this prominently, meaning they may be overlooked by the 10 million Spaniards and 20 million foreigners who want to take their holidays in Spain with their dogs in tow.
Luckily, his four-legged travelling friend is there to help via his Instagram page, Pipper On Tour (@pipperontour).
Day-trips and dogs
Provinces and cities Pipper visited on his holidays varied drastically in animal-friendly terms – some of the best, where he was allowed in restaurants, cafés and hotel rooms were Gijón (Asturias), Huelva and Málaga (Andalucía), and Salamanca and Burgos (Castilla y León).
We already know he could have found accommodation in Madrid, Ibiza or the province of Teruel (Aragón), although Pipper found the most difficult city in Spain so far to find a place to stay or to be able to accompany his human during the day was Toledo – only 5% of accommodation, or 32 holiday apartments, let pets in, and the only day-trip Pipper was able to enjoy was to the Posada de la Hermandad, as no other heritage sites permitted animals. The Primada Cathedral, the El Greco art museum and the Alcázar, or Arab fortress, were off limits.
For those visiting Toledo with their dogs, the Hermandad, or 'brotherhood', was created by Queen Isabel in the 15th century and was said to be the first of its kind in Europe subject to State control. It fought against bandits and highwaymen, and the Posada is their headquarters, where an exhibition of 28 catapults and various other Mediaeval weapons they used can be viewed.
Also in Toledo, Pipper was able to take a ride on the miniature round-town tourist train, but only two cafés let him in – Valinor Toledo and La Pepa.
Once outside Castilla-La Mancha and into its neighbouring region, Castilla y León, Pipper found Salamanca and Burgos to be among the most pet-friendly, and was also able to get a meal at La Granja de San Ildefonso restaurant in the city of Segovia.
What Pipper says about places he's been to
Pipper's Instagram post shows you can take your dogs on a visit to one of Spain's most incredible natural wonders, in Andalucía:
“Yesterday I was in the Río Tinto nature reserve in [the province of] Huelva and totally amazed at the Martian landscape (NASA is testing technology here for finding life on Mars).
“The red river [Río Tinto] crossing it is one of the weirdest on earth: its water gets its colour from iron and bacteria. You can visit the Río Tinto park with your pets (there's no size limit). You can get on the little wooden train that tours round the course of the river, and contemplate the incredible scenery, sculpted through 5,000 years of mining activity. You [and your pet] can also go on a guided tour inside a 200-metre underground gallery which opens out into an open-cast mine. An essential dog-friendly excursion if you travel to Huelva.”
Pipper has tried his hand (or paw) at various new sports, too – in Vejer de la Frontera (Cádiz province), he had a crack at surfing:
“I've hit the waves for the first time in my life! Thanks to my instructors at Nexo Surf House for their friendliness, and to @Isadelacalle.photography for having immortalised these great moments I spent on a surfing course with my human. Nexo Surf House is a super-cool guest house just a few metres from the beach with healthy food, a great atmosphere, surfing, yoga and five dog-friendly rooms with access to the garden. If you're coming with the idea of going to the beach, you'll have to do so between October and May, since from June to September, we dogs aren't allowed on Cádiz province beaches, except for one in San Fernando with a dog-friendly zone...out of season, many local councils allow us dogs to accompany our humans onto the beach.”
And also at golf, this time on the Costa del Sol (first picture):
“Best plan ever! Can you imagine going for a round of golf with your human? I did today at Lauro Golf in Málaga. Golf is an icon of tourism in Spain – just on the Costa del Sol there are over 100 courses, the most per square metre anywhere in Europe. And Lauro Golf was the first dog-friendly club in the area. Here, you can go from hole to hole with the players, enter the restaurant and sleep in the incredible accommodation at the resort. Bravo for the team at Lauro Golf, pioneers in letting well-trained dogs get started in golf, the third-most practised sport in Spain!”
Hotel gardens are not the only bits of landscaped greenery Pipper was able to visit – he took a tour of some stunning parks in Elche (Alicante province) and in Málaga, too:
“Do you know of any botanical gardens where well-behaved dogs are allowed in? I know of two so far. After visiting Elche a few weeks ago, you can see me here absorbed in my thoughts at the La Concepción botanical garden in Málaga. As you can probably work out by looking at this temple of nature and its pond, this is an English-style garden dating back over 150 years and one of the few in Europe housing plants native to sub-tropical climates.”
Dogs are also allowed in Valencia's Túria gardens – in fact, that's what they're actually for. What used to be the river Túria until the 'great flood' of 1957, when it was diverted out of the city to prevent such a catastrophe ever recurring, was turned into one of the biggest urban gardens in Europe and is now used by walkers, dog-walkers, cyclists, and basically, anyone who feels like a bit of greenery and fresh air as a contrast from the metropolitan madness.
Take your pet to the beach
Pipper has visited 50 towns and cities in his year-long 'Vuelta a España', and his next 'Tour de Spain' will take him to another 20 – but he has not had a chance to explore every one of the country's dog-friendly beaches as yet.
To save him the job, we've compiled a list here – and perhaps Pipper will review them for us in his own time. Or maybe our readers could visit them and get their own dogs to review them.
Every one of Spain's coastal regions, except the Basque Country, has at least one beach that's either completely open to dogs or has an area set aside where they are permitted.
All of them have rules, of course, and these differ from beach to beach, but in general, dogs are expected to stay on leads and always be accompanied by their humans when they enter the sea, and humans should clear up after their pets when they visit the ladies' or the gents'. Special bins are normally provided for this, at least for number twos, and number ones should be buried, rinsed away with water, or both.
Dog-friendly beaches sometimes have facilities set up such as taps and water bowls, designated toilet areas, and shaded parts.
Dog-friendly beaches in the north...
Starting in the north, Galicia has eight, including the Estacas in Ares and the Arenal in the province of A Coruña, and O Espiño, O Portiño and Cunchiña in Cangas, Cesantes and Chapela in Redondela, O Castelete in Vilagarcía de Arousa and A Foz and A Calzoa in Vigo, in the province of Pontevedra.
Asturias has four – the Rinconin in Gijón, the Cala Saliencia in Cudillero, the Bayas in Castrillón and Sabugo in Valdés.
Cantabria has seven, including La Maza in San Vicente de la Barquera and Riberuca in Suances.
...on the islands...
The Balearic Islands has plenty of dog-friendly beaches, including six in Mallorca (Na Patana, Es Carnatge, Llenaire and Cala Blanca, among others), three in Menorca (Binigaus, Escorzada and Fustam) and two in Ibiza, in Santa Eulària.
The Canary Islands has eight, including Bocabarranco, Los Cuervitos, Tres Peos, El Confital, El Cabezo and Los Guirres.
...on the south coast...
This summer, Andalucía has 11 beaches that allow dogs, plus 12 if you count the inland beach in Córdoba in the Iznájar lake (dogs bathing here must have their vaccinations up to date and owners should show their veterinary card to prove it). The coastal ones are in every seaside province from Huelva round to Almería, although the highest number is on the Costa del Sol – the Arroyó in Totalán, the Castillo in Fuengirola, and the Ventura de Mar and El Pinillo in Marbella.
...and on the Mediterranean
Murcia is one of the smallest coastal regions in Spain, but still has six beaches set up for dogs – three of which are in one of its most popular tourist towns, Mazarrón (Sierra de las Moreras, El Gachero and Cobaticas). A recent addition is the La Calera beach in the Cartagena area between Isla Plana and La Azohía.
Catalunya and the Comunidad Valenciana continue to be the regions with the most beaches geared up for dogs. In Catalunya, some of the most-recommended are in L'Ametlla de Mar in Tarragona province (Bon Caponet and the Cementiri coves, for example), in Sitges, Arenys de Mar and Cubelles, in Barcelona province (Cala Vallcarca, La Picòrdia and Les Salines, respectively), and on the Costa Brava or province of Girona, in L'Escala (Rec de Molí).
In the Comunidad Valenciana, the most touristy of the three provinces is that of Alicante, and 11 of its beaches are set up for dogs. The Agua Amarga in Alicante city; Les Urques in Calpe; Cala Llobella in Benissa; Punta Margalla and Cala del Moro in Torrevieja; Mar y Montaña in Altea; Escollera Norte in Dénia; Vilera del Xarco in Villajoyosa; Barranc d'Aigües and Punta del Riu in El Campello; and the one that comes the most highly-recommended, Caleta dels Gossets, whose name actually means 'Little cove of the little dogs', in Santa Pola.
At present, the province of Valencia only has three dog-friendly beaches – the Pinedo in Valencia city itself, La Torreta-Santa Elvira in El Puig, and the Playa Canina ('Dog Beach') in Alboraya – since the Ahuir beach in Gandia has ceased to be open to pets due to environmental legislation. The town is, however, trying to find another suitable stretch of coast to adapt for dogs, although it may not be open in time for summer 2019.
The region's northernmost province, Castellón, has five beaches open to dogs this year – Les Llanetes and Aiguaoliva in Vinaròs; L'Estany in the Punta Capicorb area of Alcossebre; the Belcaire in Moncófar, and the El Barranquet in Benicarló.
More details of dog-friendly beaches, hotels, tourist apartments, holiday parks and campsites can be found on RedCanina.es, from which the fifth photograph is taken (by Verónica Arnedo).
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